Lotus Announces Three New Models in Five Year Plan

From the moment the first of the Elises touched ground in North America, Lotus has hit the ground running with its driver-centric sports cars. The brand has focused much of its effort on updating and innovating its current star, the Elise, while its been getting very serious about its racing program with the Exige. But theres one thing weve been wondering - whats next? Though the Elise and the Exige helped Lotus pull through the better part of this decade, we all know that they wont be able to successfully keep the brand afloat forever. In Europe, theres the Europa S, which is, in essence, a plus-sized Opel Speedster Turbo (the mid-engined predecessor to the Saturn Sky and Pontiac Solstice), designed to go toe-to-toe with the Porsche Cayman and Audi TT, but it wont be sold in North America.

Thankfully, Lotus has come up with an answer that depicts a bright future for the sports car maker with a new five-year plan. For quite some time now, weve known that Lotus is planning to revive the Esprit nameplate with a new high-performance, range-topping vehicle. While theres been an air of uncertainty surrounding the entire vehicle, Lotus has indeed confirmed that it will be arriving. Its scheduled date of release will be in December, 2009, roughly a year and a half after we were initially expecting it. In the interim, Lotus has announced that it will be releasing two models to fill the gap between its upcoming halo car, and the Elise and the Exige.

Set to be launched in May, 2008 is a high-performance model of undisclosed size or drivetrain layout. It will be sold as a Lotus, as well as a Proton, the Malaysian firm which has a controlling stake in Lotus. Seven months later, Lotus will also launch a mid-range model, which is expected to replace the current Europa S, which went on sale in the UK a few weeks back. Lotus will also continue to develop the VVA flexible platform, which it debuted in seven-seat crossover form this summer. With enough development, we could very well see Lotus popping up in different vehicle categories in which its never yet performed in.

Mike Kimberley, Chief Executive Officer, Group Lotus said: "We are very pleased to have secured LGIL (Lotus Group International Limited) Board approval for a high-level five-year strategic business plan - the first such approved plan that this company has had in the last six years. We have some great opportunities ahead of us and some already under way. Its a very bright future but we have to work hard to bring all the opportunities to fruition."

Kimberley also said, "Like many other carmakers we need to tighten our belts in the short term. It is essential we respond fast to market conditions while we drive forward this exciting long-term plan. Our shareholder Proton has been and is very supportive of Group Lotus plc, with strong backing for our realignment plans."